Ignatius Bonomi (1787–1870) was an English

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and surveyor, with Italian origins by his father, strongly associated with

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

in north-east

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Life

He was the son of an architect and draughtsman, Joseph Bonomi (1739–1808), who had worked with

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

and James Adam, while his brother

Joseph Bonomi the Younger Joseph Bonomi the Younger (9 October 1796 – 3 March 1878) was an English sculptor, artist, Egyptologist and museum curator. Early life Bonomi was born in London (Gunnis says Rome) into a family of architects. His father, Joseph Bonomi the Eld ...

was a noted artist, sculptor and

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...

. Bonomi was Surveyor of Bridges for the County of Durham, and his works included the

Skerne Bridge The Skerne Bridge is a railway bridge over the River Skerne in Darlington, County Durham. Built in 1825 for the Stockton and Darlington Railway, it carried the first train on the opening day, . It is still in use, being the oldest railway brid ...

; one of the first

railway bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whic ...

s in Britain, over the

River Skerne The River Skerne is a tributary of the River Tees. It flows through County Durham in England. Course The Skerne is about long and begins in Magnesian Limestone hills between Trimdon and Trimdon Grange and ends at Hurworth Place where it joi ...

, near

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

, for the

Stockton and Darlington The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) was a railway company that operated in north-east England from 1825 to 1863. The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, its first line connected coal mining, collieries near Shildo ...

Railway, in 1824 (hence he is sometimes referred to as 'the first railway architect'). He was also responsible for a number of church buildings (including commissions at

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...

). Other historic buildings, in

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

and neo-classical styles, included

Durham Castle Durham Castle is a Norman castle in the city of Durham, England, which has been occupied since 1837 by University College, Durham after its previous role as the residence of the Bishops of Durham. Designated since 1986 as a cultural World Heri ...

Lambton Castle Lambton Castle stands above Chester-le-Street, County Durham and is a stately home, the ancestral seat of the Lambton family, the Earls of Durham. It is listed in the mid-category of listed building, Grade II*. History Largely constructed a ...

(continuing the work started by his father), Durham Prison, Elvet Hill House (1820), Burn Hall,

Windlestone Hall Windlestone Hall is a mid-16th century Elizabethan country house, heavily rebuilt in 1821 to form a Greek revival stately home, situated near Rushyford, County Durham, England. It is a Grade II* Listed building. As of 2022 it is back in private f ...

and Eggleston Hall, all in

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

. In Derbyshire he designed Christ Church

King Sterndale King Sterndale is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England. It is located in the Peak District, 4 miles east of Buxton. It has a population of about 30, increasing to 133 at the 2011 Census. The two hamlets of Cowdale and Staden also li ...

near

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.

, built in 1848–9 for the Pickford family, founders of the

Pickfords Pickfords is a moving company based in the United Kingdom, part of Pickfords Move Management Ltd. The business is believed to have been founded in the 17th century, making it one of the UK's oldest functioning companies, although the similar ...

removals business. In 1817 Bonomi was contracted to design a mansion, Normanby Hall, in Normanby. Other works included the remodelling of Crossbeck House (Normanby) (1824) the design of Marton House near

Appleby-in-Westmorland Appleby-in-Westmorland is a market town and civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, with a population of 3,048 at the 2011 Census. Crossed by the River Eden, Appleby was the county town of the historic county of Westmorland. I ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

(1822),

Blagdon Hall Blagdon Hall () is a privately owned English country house near Cramlington in Northumberland. It is a Grade I listed building. The house and estate have been in the ownership of the White Ridley family since 1698. The present Viscount Ridley is ...

(1830) in Stannington near

Morpeth Morpeth may refer to: *Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia ** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales * Morpeth, Ontario, Canada * Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK ** Morpeth (UK ...

, St Mary's Church, Sunderland (1830), the church of St John the Baptist in

Leeming, North Yorkshire Leeming is a village in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. Geography Leeming lies a mile east of the current A1(M) road, south of the larger village of Leeming Bar and north of the small hamlet of Londonderry. Nearby is the ...

(1839) and the restoration of St Nicholas House,

Richmond, North Yorkshire Richmond is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, and the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is from the county town of Northallerton and situated on t ...

. For his brother Joseph, he also designed a house, "The Camels", at

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

in south-west

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He also designed houses at Masterman Place in Middleton-in-Teesdale. In 1831, Bonomi took on

John Loughborough Pearson John Loughborough Pearson (5 July 1817 – 11 December 1897) was a British Gothic Revival architect renowned for his work on churches and cathedrals. Pearson revived and practised largely the art of vaulting, and acquired in it a proficiency ...

as an apprentice. In 1842 he entered into a partnership with John Augustus Cory, later

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

County Architect (from 1862). The church of St John the Evangelist,

Nenthead Nenthead ( ) in the county of Cumbria is one of England's highest villages, at around . It was not built until the middle of the 18th century and was one of the earliest purpose-built industrial villages in Britain. History Nenthead was a ma ...

(1845, the highest church in England) was one of their joint projects. Until 1850 he lived in his modest stone villa in Durham City, now the Oriental Museum.

References

Bibliography

* Peter Meadows, ''Ignatius Bonomi: An Architect in Cleveland'', Cleveland and Teesside Local History Society's Bulletin, 50 (1986). * Peter Meadows, ''Bonomi, Ignatius Richard Frederick Nemesius (1787–1870)'', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 200
accessed 31 October 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonomi, Ignatius 19th-century English architects English people of Italian descent 1787 births 1870 deaths British railway architects Architects from County Durham